In the past various types of exercise devices have been developed to build strength in the muscles of the body and to tone such muscles. In addition to such common methods as lifting weights and working out with tethered and spring biased exercise devices, weighted belts and head gear as well as ankle and wrist encircling devices have been devised. It is well recognized that the wearing of weights on the ankles and wrists as well as on the head and around the waist of the user will place a strain on the muscles thereby developing and toning the same. By far the preferred method of weighting these various and often complex devices have been through the use of lead shot which are relatively heavy in weight, will readily conform to the contours of the body and are relatively easy to incorporate into the finished manufactured product.
The big drawback in the use of lead shot for weighted exercise devices is that such shot tends to shift or bunch up thus becoming uncomfortable to the user and creating an unbalanced situation which, particularly when used in conjunction with athletic practice, can be not only annoying but on some occasions dangerous during violent maneuvers. Attempts to overcome this objectionable attribute of lead shot for weighted exercise devices have been compartmentalizing such shot. This has only met with limited success in that a plurality of small bunched up weights are encountered rather than one large massed weight. The bunching is still very uncomfortable and the problem of throwing the user off balance by the shifting of the shot has not been overcome.
In an attempt to overcome the shifting problem of shot weight, a plurality of pocket like openings have been provided with cylindrical shaped, slug-like weights being insertable therein. This to some extent eliminates the shifting problem of shot although the weights still tend to bunch up one adjacent the other during violent maneuvers and the uncomfortableness of wearing these prior art devices has been a distinct drawback.
None of the prior known devices have been able to overcome the shifting of the weights during use and particularly during violent motions nor has the lumpy construction of such devices been overcome to provide a comfortable and yet efficient weighted exercise device.